"Duck the Halls: A Mickey Mouse Christmas Special" is the fifty-eighth episode of Mickey Mouse. It premiered on December 9, 2016.
Plot
Instead of going South with his family and other duck friends, Donald stays behind in North with Mickey and the remaining Sensational Six to spend his first ever Christmas. During his stay, Donald soon starts to get sick from the cold weather while trying to enjoy the snow and the times with his friends. When Mickey and the others soon to find out about his sickness, they must get him to South to the rest of ducks immediately to restore him back to his health before he dies.
Synopsis
The film begins with Mickey Mouse singing a song with a different voice (at first until a minute later) while the whole gang is setting up for Christmas.
It is Christmas Eve, and Donald has to go south for the winter. Donald tries to make excuses and pleads to Daisy that Donald has never had a Christmas. Daisy says it's too cold, so Mickey then introduces Christmas to the ducks and tells them his back-story. Then Mickey has another thought that Donald wouldn't really appreciate the snow. Daisy takes Donald in the car and says goodbye to everyone.
While Daisy drives Donald to the south, Donald finds a present that reads "WE WISH YOU WERE HERE". Donald then flies out of the car once they pass the big bridge and the big billboard, much to Daisy's annoyance and sarcastic feelings. At first, Daisy urges Donald to come back for the sake of his own health, only to sarcastically remark "He'll be back" once he's gone.
Mickey, Minnie and Goofy are gloomy with the ducks gone. Suddenly, Donald breaks into Mickey's house and everyone is so happy that Donald is staying for Christmas. But in the excitement, Minnie considered about Donald being here with the winter but Donald is sure he'll survive, so Mickey claims this to be the best Christmas ever.
Meanwhile, in the south, Daisy feels a bit gloomy that Donald isn't with her. Soon, Donald's family arrives and Scrooge and the nephews and Ludwig see Daisy. After she tells them about Donald's absences, the Professor says that if Donald stays in the cold, he can risk death. Everyone gasps, but Daisy says, "The moment the temperature drops ten degrees, he'll come running with his tail tucked between his legs," very sarcastically. Everyone believes in Daisy and claims to have the best migration ever in the meantime.
Elsewhere, Donald, Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy are setting up for Christmas, and Mickey has a big list of all the things that they're going to do until Christmas morning! So the whole gang (excluding Daisy) does everything on the list and no one realizes that Donald is starting to feel sick. He catches a very bizarre cold and is risking death. As they sing carols, Donald's mouth falls off of his face and Donald pushes it back on, feeling very outlandish. With everything else on the list done, Christmas morning was left.
In the south, Daisy, Scrooge McDuck, Professor Von Drake, Huey, Dewey, and Louie are in an old bathtub and are feeling a bit gloomy that Donald isn't there with them, until they hear Donald's laugh. That makes everyone happy because they think it was Donald until they realize it was just Gus Goose opperating a blender, blending a tropical smoothie. Daisy gets frustrated and is about to call Donald.
Back in north, Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy are preparing to make Christmas great for Donald, but Donald is in the bathroom, trying to get himself in shape to make sure his friend don't find out about his condition. Minnie calls on Donald, giving him paper role color in peppermint then Donald comes out and encourages himself that he is doing great, but the whole gang has found out about Donald's antics and Goofy is shocked that Donald looks like he's about to die, so he offers him a cup of cocoa but it is so hot so he goes outside to cool it down, only to freeze again. Mickey and the whole gang are a bit worried and confused about Donald's issue. Then Donald receives a call from Daisy and Daisy hears her lover sounding worse. Knowing his condition, Daisy tells Donald's family they're about to go north to rescue Donald. Mickey and the gang see that Donald's antics are getting worse, so they must get him back south pronto, but Donald refuses to go south because he's waiting to see Christmas morning and runs away, looking for more Christmas.
While Donald looks for more Christmas, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto look for Donald. Donald is now on the roof of a barn and falls off the roof, and that is when Mickey and the gang notice that Donald is almost closer to death!
The whole gang takes him back inside in a bed, and Mickey prays for a miracle to make Donald reach the South to save his life. Hope still seens lost until Santa arrives, getting himself stuck in the chimmey. Mickey and the gang steal his sleigh in order to fly south faster. During the journey, Minnie tells Mickey that Donald is getting worse now that he is going to die in seconds if they don't go make to south in time, so Mickey presses a button that makes the sleigh go into hyperspeed.
The duck family are on their way to get Donald. Perparing for the cold weather, Daisy is really determined to save Donald and makes vow when she says, "And when we get him......I'm gonna kill him!" Suddenly, before they could leave they soon see Santa's sleigh is flying at 10,000 MPH when it crashes in town, destroying almost everything. Mickey triumphs and Daisy is surprised to see her friends until she asked where Donald is. Now in fear, everyone looks for Donald. Then as everyone searches in the wreckage, Goofy finds a roasted duck meal and mistakes it for Donald being burned in the sleigh speed. Everyone is horrified and saddened by Donald's death, but suddenly they see someone emerging from the bathtub Daisy and Donald's family were in: it was Donald and he is alive and restored back to normal health much Donald's friends and family joy. Goofy finds out that the roasted duck he thought was Donald actually an alive one that sunbathed in the raw. Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Scrooge have a good laugh at until they were stopped by a furious Daisy. Daisy gets angry at Donald for scaring her to death as she slaps him but quickly drops all her anger and turns it into dramatic happiness because she missed Donald as she joyously smooches her boyfriend in happiness. Donald, now fully recovered, is happy to back with Daisy again too when suddenly he remembers something and soon becomes sad because he missed Christmas morning. Mickey and others felt sorry and sadden for their duck because of how he wanted to experience Christmas so much but had no choice to get to south to save him. Still, they all were happy that he is alive and safe.
Then an angry Santa Claus comes and gets cross at Mickey and the gang when they took his sleigh and even more when it burns up. Mickey awkwardly begs him his forgiveness, explains to Santa they had to in order to save Donald. They also reveal Donald's desperation to have his very first Christmas. After having a near death experience with both the cold Winter and the snow, Donald sadly finally accepts the fact that it's not possible for ducks to have Christmas as he and Mickey nearly start to cry. After hearing this, Santa laughs at their predicament and reveals they don't need winter or snow to have Christmas. Santa tells them that it's not where you have Christmas but actually how you have it that's really important! Even if there isn't any winter or snow in south, anyone can have anyway they like as long as they share joy with the ones they truly love and carry Christmas with them everywhere in side their hearts. Donald, his friends, family and the other ducks were happy delighted that about this now that ducks can celebrate Christmas as well, but they were depressed again when Mickey points out all the damaged he made from the sleight crash. Santa, on the other hand, says he fix it with his magic.
After using some "Christmas magic" to make everything right again, all the ducks including Donald's family, along with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto (who was turned into an actual reindeer briefly), end up having a wonderful Christmas on the beach with all the decorations and food and gifts they severed. As the Sensational Six along with Donald's family and Santa relax under a Christmas tree with a star on top, Mickey asks Donald if this is the very first Christmas he thought it would be. Donald admits that although it wasn't the Christmas he expected and hoped for to be, he says that it's better than he imaged it would be, much to Mickey's delight as the two friends, along with the rest of gang, enjoy a relaxing Christmas beach, as the movie ends with a sign: Merry Christmas!
Characters
- Mickey Mouse
- Donald Duck
- Goofy
- Pluto
- Minnie Mouse
- Daisy Duck
- Scrooge McDuck
- Huey, Dewey, and Louie
- Ludwig Von Drake
- Gus Goose
- Walt Disney (possible cameo)
- Bambi (cameo)
- Thumper (cameo)
- Mickey's family (cameo)
- Mickey's father
- Mickey's mother
- Uncle Albert
- Aunt Victoria
- Cousin Alister
- The Twins
- Lefty
- Righty
- Sherman
- Grandpa Joe
- Gammie
Voice Cast
- Chris Diamantopoulos - Mickey Mouse, Additional Voices
- Tony Anselmo - Donald Duck
- Bill Farmer - Goofy, Pluto, Additional Voices
- Russi Taylor - Minnie Mouse, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Additional Voices
- Tress MacNeille - Daisy Duck
- John Kassir - Scrooge McDuck[1]
- Corey Burton - Ludwig Von Drake
- Kevin Michael Richardson - Santa Claus, Additional Voices
Additional voices:
- Paul Rudish
- Dave Wasson
Trivia
- At 21 minutes long, this is the longest episode of the series to date.
- The majority of Mickey's relatives are all wearing Edwardian-era clothing (a la Mary Poppins and Peter Pan), and all their photos were taken in a large house whose corridors and wallpaper mirror those that could have been found in the Darlings' house in the latter film.
- This marks the first time Scrooge McDuck and Ludwig Von Drake have interacted in animation since "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
- When Ludwig Von Drake says that the winter conditions can be fatal to Donald, he explains the details by showing an image of Jacques de Vaucanson's automation Digesting Duck.
- The horses in this special are modeled after the ones from the "Once Upon a Wintertime" segment of Melody Time.
- The toy soldiers Mickey and Donald dance with are modeled after the ones from Babes in Toyland.
- In the cold open for this special, Mickey emulates legendary crooner Bing Crosby.
- In Mickey's flashback, "the twins" are modeled after the Grady Twins from Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining.
- In Mickey's flashback, "Sherman" is shown with a Music Record. This may be a Homage to Disney Composers, the Sherman Brothers.
- In Mickey's flashback, "Uncle Albert and Aunt Victoria" could be referencing Queen Victoria, and her husband, Albert, Prince Consort.
- When a sick and insane Donald leaves the house looking for more Christmas, he dons a makeshift cape made out of a rug and Christmas lights, which looks reminiscent to the one Donald previously portrayed as The Mouse King from the Mickey Mouse Works cartoon "The Nutcracker".
- John Kassir voices Scrooge McDuck in this television special, since the character's previous voice actor Alan Young died earlier in May 2016.
- Despite this episode saying that ducks can't survive in cold weather (as in real life), Donald and his relatives have been shown to survive in cold weather on numerous occasions both before and after.
International Premieres
- December 23, 2016 (Portugal)
- December 24, 2016 (Brazil)
- December 31, 2016 (Russia)
Gallery
References
- ↑ Kassir, John (December 2016). "No, just the Christmas special..thx" (Tweet). Twitter. Retrieved on December 12, 2016.
